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(No Model.)

Gr. BEAGOGK.

SURGICAL SPLINT.

Patented July 29, 1890.

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U ITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

TIIIRDS TO CHARLES H. MCCREADY, CLAXTON, OF MONTREAL, CANADA.

OF SAME PLACE, AND T. JAMES SURGICAL SPLINT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 433,227, dated July 29, 1890.

Application filed Iebrnary 11, 1890. Serial No. 339.964. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE BEACOCK, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, residin g at Brockville, in the Province of Ontario,

Dominion of Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Surgical Splints, of which the following is a specification, reference beinghad therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention has relation to surgical splints; and its objects and advantages will be set forth in the following description, and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the claim. Some of the principal advantages result from the particular material of which my splints are made. The material is rawhide prepared in a special manner, whereby it is rendered tough, pliable, and transparent, and at the same time of such a degree of softness as to be readily cut or shaped in its outline at the edges of a splint by the use of ordinary shears or any other desired cutting implement. It also possesses an advantage of being capable of further softening by simply immersing the same in warm or hot water or applying a sponge saturated with hot water, whereby a splint can be made to conform to the natural shape of any member of the body to which 0 it is to be applied, and the splint will retain that form, while at the same time it is not rigidly stilt and uncomfortable to a patient.

In preparing the rawhide the hide is first subjected to the action of lime or sodium to 5 fit it for the process of unhairing it. It is then treated to a Very diluted solution of any desirable acid to remove any residuum of lime or sodium which may remain from the unhairing process and to counteract the chemical action of the lime or sodium upon the gelatine of the hide. The acid also incidentally tends to clarify the albumen of the hide and to produce transparency or translucency in the finished product. The hide is subse- 5 quently oiled or paraffined.

By my process of treating the hide I produce rawhide which is tough, serviceable, pliable, moldable, and transparent.

Instead of subjecting the hide to any chemicals after the nnhairing process which ren- 5o der it hard and stiff and brittle, as well as opaque, I preserve the gelatine remaining in the interstices of the fiber of the hide in a condition more near its natural state than in ordinary rawhide. The transparency of the material has the marked advantage of permitting the inspection of a fractured member without removing a splint, which, in addition to the advantages heretofore mentioned, render the article extremely useful in surgical and similar treatments.

Referring to the drawings, Figure l is an elevation of a leg, ankle, andv foot splint. Fig. 2 is a perspective of an arm-splint provided with a wrist and hand rest. Fig. 3 isa forearm and hand splint. Fig. 4 is a perspective of an upper and forearm splint, and Fig. 5 is a sectional view illustrating the adaptabilityof conforming a splint to a member.

Like letters refer to like parts in all the figures.

A represents the body portion of a splint constructed in accordance with my invention, said body portion being shaped to any par- 7 5 ticnlar member. In Fig. 1 it is bulged, as at A, to approximately fit the ankle, and is provided with an extension A for supporting the foot. In Fig. 2 the body of the splint is bulged to fit the elbow and is provided with an extension A for supporting the hand and wrist. In the first case the extension A is integral with-the body of the splint, as it may be in the second instance, or it may be adjustably connected with the body portion of the splint in a manner similar to that illustrated in Fig. 2, which comprises a slot A in the extension and a securing device A seated in the' body of the splint, whereby the extension may be adjusted to suit the length of go the forearm or foot of a patient. In Fig. 3 the body is notched, as at A for the reception of the base of the thumb, and the splint terminates in a hollow bulb A, upon which the fingers may be grasped or rested, thereby contributing to the comfort of the patient. These particular features of conformation may be adopted in'splints made of material other than hereinbefore describedas, for example, sheet metahwhich has heretofore been usedand I therefore do not limit my invention in this regard to its construction of any particular material.

By reference to Figs 4 and 5, A represents a cross-section of an arm or leg. and the full lines represent the relative position occupied by a splint which is to be applied to said arm. By immersing the splint in warm or hot water or otherwise, as heretofore stated, and as preferred, it becomes more pliable to such an extent that it may be molded so as to conform more strictly to the contour of the 

